


Hola, Annyeong

by ru_svenbill17



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1990s, Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Coming of Age, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Foster Care, Gay Keith (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Multi, Mutual Pining, Period-Typical Racism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 14:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17326640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ru_svenbill17/pseuds/ru_svenbill17
Summary: Leandro McClain was just another FOB whose family fled Cuba for the suburbs of Texas. Keith Kogane was just a stubborn foster kid with a mean streak. New to school? The tormentors never give it a rest. Experience freshman year through the eyes of two unlikely friends who find each other eating lunch in the bathroom stalls. 1990s High School AU.





	Hola, Annyeong

  _first_

_Dallas, TX (1995)_

They called it the Quagmire, Leandro came to find out on the first day of school. The definition of quagmire was "a difficult and dangerous situation" and that certainly did not ease his mind. Confidence seemed to be more fleeting for Leandro since their move over the summer. Texas was  _not_ Varadero. As much as he had prayed that there would be  _some_ resemblance to the streets of festivity and golden beaches he had been raised with, the closest to that was at Havana Bar & Grill. He had forgotten that Dallas was a landlocked city. 

Anyways, the Quagmire, or better known as Northview High, was the "lesser of the two evils" as Leandro's mother had said. His other option for education was at Angelwood, whose name was actually ironic. The closest angel there was the half-assed mural in the lobby that made the school's mascot look more like a deranged Muppet. At least at Northview, Leandro could appreciate their talisman, which was a lioness.

That was exactly what Leandro was staring at now: the lioness's head printed on the back of a sports sweatshirt. Whoever was in front of him obviously had somewhere to be and pushed through the crowd of milling students to get ahead. Leandro watched as he almost knocked one of the hall monitors into a water fountain before deciding to risk looking down at his crumpled schedule. His lunch period was next and the vague memory of where the cafeteria flashed for a split-second before it was gone. Leandro shoved the piece of paper into his pocket before taking a right into a less brimming hallway.

The boy who was supposed to be taking him to each of his classes, at least for the first day, had miraculously disappeared after second period. Leandro trusted the fact that some of his classmates from his English class would be going to PE and followed them a few paces behind. At this point, the Cuban braved speaking in his broken English to this section's hall monitor.

"Excuse me, where is the lunch room?" He asked after approaching her. She had wired hair that looked like it hadn't been combed since she was his age and permanent stress wrinkles made her resemble a pug. 

"Down this hall, take a left and you'll see some trophy cases. Go straight until the end of that and you'll pass the gym before taking a right. You'll see it  after going through the courtyard and just ask if you get lost." Her voice was younger than Leandro had expected, but what he was trying to process was understanding what she had just said. 

"Okay, thank you." He nodded before ducking out into traffic and navigating once again through the throng of students. It must have been a blessing that some student took pity on the wayward new kid and went to him as he began to question which way to go from the trophy cases.

"Hey, you lost?" 

Leandro whipped around to see a girl, who he actually recognised from first period, approaching him. Her chestnut brown hair was cropped flipping up at her shoulders, and messy bangs swept her forehead. She stood at least an entire foot shorter than Leandro.

"Yeah, I am," He gave a relieved smile. "Can you show me the lunch room please?"

The girl, whose name he suddenly remembered was Katie, nodded as she adjusted her rounded glasses. "Follow me."

After safely arriving at his destination, Leandro thanked his new acquaintance before heading towards the line of students. He didn't get far before a burly hand wrapped around his backpack handle and yanked him backwards into a table. 

"Hey, Spic, whatcha got there?" A gravel-like voice demanded, turning Leandro around so he could face the fleshy mass that was Noah Mitchell. Noah from PE had gotten a kick out of the fact that someone like Leandro - whatever  _that_ was supposed to mean - was his new classmate. Leandro had gotten a literal kick to the shins. 

Leandro held his hands up in defence, showing the taller boy that he didn't have anything. "Leave me alone." He warned, the discomfort from the growing gazes of surrounding people starting to catch up. It didn't help that his heart was beating two-hundred beats a minute and he was starting to regret that he left his inhaler at home.

"Listen here, wetback. If I see you shittin' around here, you better  _bet_ you're gonna get what's comin' for you. My school, my rules. Don't forget about it." Noah growled before releasing Leandro with a cruel tug, sending the smaller teen stumbling. As quickly as the attention was drawn, it went away and Leandro was left to adjust his backpack straps and with reddening cheeks, join the lunch line.

His older sister, Veronica, had warned him that lunch here would taste like contaminated rations and what Leandro received, a "hamburger", "apple" and an orange juice carton lived up to those expectations. Carrying his meal in his hands, as all the available trays had been taken, he came to find that every table in the room was either full, unwelcoming or both.  _Bathroom it is._ He thought in Spanish, curling his fingers around the apple a little harder as he trudged past the students who had watched with amusement as he was antagonised by Noah. Luckily, Katie had told him that the men's room was right around the corner from the cafeteria and after turning one wrong corner and heading towards the next, Leandro spotted the universal sign.

He opened the door with his forearm and was relieved to find that nobody was inside. There were only four stalls and from the crisp smell of marijuana and sweat, he could not have been mistaken. Leandro didn't dare set his bag down and instead, chose the farthest stall to spend a quality meal time in. He nearly screeched when the door slammed in his face after trying to push it open with his foot.  _There's a reason there's a lock._ He thought and for once, addressed this problem out loud.

" _Oye_ , what is your deal, man?" Leandro asked, shoving himself into a stall he was  _sure_ was unoccupied. 

"My deal?" The voice from beside him was hoarse as if he had been yelling for a few days. In the Quagmire, Leandro could imagine he'd end up in the same place. 

"Yeah, you did not-" Leandro broke off as he struggled to find a suitable word for what he was trying to express. "Keep the door shut. How am I supposed to know you are there?"

There was shuffling as if the boy in the stall was straightening up from a slouched position. Leandro bit into his apple with force.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

Leandro hadn't been asked this way in the few classes he had been present for. Normally, people would make false assumptions and he would shake his head. Before he could say, "I am not Mexican", the conversation would go on and he wouldn't dare bring it up again. This new form of civility was new and kind, which was sad to say since it was still an assumption. 

"No." Leandro answered after a few moments. From what he could tell, the other boy was in here for the same reason Leandro was. 

A humourless laugh sounded from his neighbour and he could hear the door opening. Who leaned against the wall in front of Leandro's compartment was the most ruggedly  _handsome_ person Leandro had ever seen. He smiled.

"I think we're going to get along then." 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for checking this out! I've had this idea for a while, but didn't know when or where to start. The title refers to greetings in Spanish and Korean, respectively. Feedback is always welcome and I hope you enjoyed!


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